While studying to get my master's degree in public health, we discussed paternalism. A common example given of legal paternalism were helmet laws. I tended to agree that helmet laws really were paternalistic, but I was always sure that the people arguing against them were extremists, and like all extremists, were few and far between.
Sometime while I was gone, Utah repealed it's motorcycle helmet law. This has allowed me to see something very plainly. I was dead wrong. The people who really don't want to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle are not few and far between. They are everywhere! In fact, the exception is the person wearing a helmet. I decided to start counting percentages of helmet wearers to non-helmet wearers. Maybe more people wear them on the freeway or when it isn't summer, but so far, the "extremists" are winning.
No comments:
Post a Comment